


We've Only Just Begun

by Stupidseawitch



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, High School, Teen Peter Parker, peter parker x reader - Freeform, spider-man x reader
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:22:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28520082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stupidseawitch/pseuds/Stupidseawitch
Summary: Life for Peter is pretty normal (when he's not Spider-Man). Wake up, go to school, get harassed by Flash, Spidey-Stuff, go home, do it all again. At least, before he met you.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Ned Leeds, Peter Parker/Reader
Comments: 3
Kudos: 67
Collections: Peter x Reader





	1. Watching the Signs Along the Way

It was a normal day for Peter, he’d gone through school with Flash and his strange powers over the student populus for long enough that he knew how to keep his head down. It was really no different than any other day. He’d walked to school, met up with Ned, went to class and waited for the school day to be over so he could finally shed his normal life and become Spider-Man again.

It  _ was _ a normal day. Until fifth period rolled around. Fifth period was AP chem with Mr. S, the oldest teacher on campus, and Ned and, unfortunately, Flash. Peter sat towards the middle of the classroom, next to Ned and some random people that had never attempted a conversation with him once in their lives. It wasn’t that they were bad people, Peter just flew under the radar at school and everyone else had their own lives. Peter wasn’t really upset, anyway, he had Ned and he didn’t really need any new friends.

It was towards the end of class and Peter was counting down the minutes before class would end and he would be free of Flash’s stupid comments. 

“Man, if I knew Spider-Man personally, I would probably just always ditch class. Nothing they couldn’t get me out of.” Flash’s obnoxious voice rang out from the front of the class. He suddenly stood to turn around and sit on his desk, staring down at Peter. “I’d have tons of friends because everyone knows that superheroes aren’t friends with losers like Penis Parker.” 

Truth be told, Peter wasn’t really listening. He was coming up with different cool lines to say when he caught more bad guys. ‘ _ Cool superheroes always say something cool.’  _ Peter thought, scribbling furiously.

“I guess normal people finally have something in common with superheroes!” Flash laughed and tried to high-five the person closest to him, but she just glared at him before staring straight ahead.

A normal day for Peter Parker. That is, until another voice joined the mix. “Leave him alone, Flash.” A... _girl_ _voice_? Peter finally wakes up from his trance and scans the room to find everyone staring at the girl two seats in front of him.

“Shut up, (L/N).” He scoffed, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.

“Make me, Flash.” She challenged, shooting him a lethal look.

“Looks like Parker’s got himself a girlfriend!” Flash teased, about to fire off another  _ zinger _ when the girl cut him off.

“You know what, Flash? I’m tired of your bull. You’re just insecure and you take it out on everyone better than you. You’re an absolute ass whenever you get passed up for something and the fact that Parker has beaten you this whole year for top score has you pissed. Why don’t you focus on improving yourself before taking out your personal issues on everyone else,” The girl stood up and threw her bag over her shoulder, marching past the room full of stunned faces to the exit. “Asshole.” She growled before leaving.

The entire class looked back and forth between Peter and Flash, a couple of “Oh, damn!”s were shouted out and a stunned silence fell upon the room.

“Dude!” Ned whisper-shouted, turning and smacking Peter on the shoulder. “Do you know her?”

“No,” Peter whispered back, his entire face red, “I’ve seen her around but I don’t think we’ve ever spoken to each other before?” 

Ned flashes Peter one of his signature goofy smiles and bounces a bit in his chair, “She stood up for you, that’s so cool.” He gasped and faced Peter completely. “I wonder if she likes you?!”

Peter ducked lower in his chair, he was paranoid that the entire class was listening to his conversation. Luckily, just before Peter could respond, the bell rang. He stood up with alarming speed, shoving everything into his bag before responding “Nah, I bet she had separate issues with Flash. She doesn’t even know me!”

Ned shakes his head disappointment evident in his features, “Sure, Dude. Sure.” Peter smacked him on the arm lightly and Ned shrugged before they left for their next class.

As Peter and Ned walked the halls, Peter couldn’t help but think of that girl. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever even spoken to her before and she was willing to stand up for him in front of the whole class! Peter had never had that sort of bravery without the suit. She was... _ amazing. _

The next day, Peter found himself scanning the cafeteria for her, even though he knew he would have nothing to say if he found her. Would she even want to talk to him? It would be best if Peter just didn’t talk to her, right? It didn’t take long for Peter to find her sitting among the theater kids in the corner of the large room. Her head was thrown back in laughter and she gripped her stomach, falling backward. Peter stifled a laugh when she suddenly threw her arms up in panic when she realized she’d leaned back too far.

“Peter!” Ned yelled, pulling Peter’s eyes away from the mystery girl.

“What- what?” Peter asked, somewhat defensively when he saw the obvious annoyance in Ned’s eyes.

Ned turned to find out what Peter had been looking at, after all, he hadn’t seen Peter ask like this since Michelle last year. “What were you even- Ooooh,” Ned interrupted his own thought when he saw the girl from AP chem sitting with the theater kids. He turned to face Peter again, crossing his arms. “I thought you were giving up on romance after operation Vulture.” 

“I am!” Peter insisted, giving one last glance at the smiling girl in the corner before turning back to Ned. “I don’t even like her I’m just curious about her,” Peter mumbled, leaning onto the table and putting his head down.

“Peter, that’s crap and we both know it.” Ned insisted. “Just go talk to her. There’s no way that something like…’ _ The Incident _ ’ would happen again!” 

The bell rang out, signaling that the lunch period ended. “Ned, I’m fine. Let’s just get to class.” Peter threw away his lunch and began walking to class, maybe a bit faster than he usually would. But that totally wasn’t because he had AP chem next with that girl. No, not at all.


	2. Talking it Over Just the Two of Us

Peter took his seat, lost in thought, as he removed his notebook and pens. He didn’t even know her name! This is crazy, right? How could anyone like someone when they don’t even know their name?! 

“Hey,” Peter was pulled out of his thoughts by the girl that possessed them. She looked somewhat embarrassed as she addressed him. Oh, God. Could he have been speaking his thoughts the entire time? 

“Hey! Uh...” Peter stuttered as he realized that he had no idea how to address her.

“(Y/N),” She finished for him, smiling at his awkwardness. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” Peter was baffled that this girl would even  _ speak _ to him, but she was worried about him? “You know, after yesterday. I know  _ I  _ yelled at Flash, but I heard it sorta brought attention on you, and it’s easier for me look weird in front of everyone because I’m used to it, but it’s not easy for everyone.”

Peter’s breath was caught in his throat. It took (Y/N) looking at Peter like he had just stared at her for 15 seconds instead of responding, which he absolutely did, for Peter to snap out of it and stutter out a response. “Uh- er- um- Yeah! Ye- Yeah, totally! I’m fine, are- are you...okay…?” He cringed at sheer amount of awkwardness that he, apparently, embodied.

“...yes…?” (Y/N) let out a small chuckle.

“Hahaha, yeah, that’s good,” Peter let out an awkward and definitely fake laugh before imploding in on himself. “Uh, class is about to start, so”

“Oh! Yeah, uh, I should probably get to my seat.” (Y/N) gave a small smile before leaving to find her desk before class started.

Peter looked at Ned, his eyes wide, before slamming his head down on his desk. Why? Why did he have to be like this? Why couldn’t he have a normal conversation with a normal girl like a  _ normal _ person?

So, Peter did what any  _ normal _ person would do when they embarrassed themselves in front of a pretty girl: He actively avoided her for the next three days. Whenever he would see her in the halls, he would immediately turn around and walk the other day. If it was unavoidable, he would keep his head down and pretend to have earbuds in. One time, he ate in the bathroom because she was looking for him and she knew where he sat.

Of course, this couldn’t last for very long, he was constantly stressed and running around with Ned -- who was getting  _ very _ tired of this. (“ _ Peter,  _ we’re gonna lose our table!”), but he thought he could at least last the week. It was Friday when Peter was finally cornered. 

Peter was sitting with Ned at their usual table talking about nothing when a hand slammed down next to Peter, making both boys jump. “Peter Parker, do you hate me?” (Y/N) asked, her words rushed.

“Whaaaaaaaaaat?” Peter asked, his voice much too high to be any sort of normal.

“Look, I know we don’t talk and I might have embarrassed you, but you avoided my eyes when we talked the other day and you’ve literally ran away from me whenever I’ve seen you since.” (Y/N)’s face was strangely flushed and she was trying her hardest to look at Peter, but she kept looking down at her hands.

“Nononononono, wait-” Peter’s eyes got wide and he held up his hands in a feeble attempt to maybe calm her down.

“Look, I’m sorry if what I did made you uncomfortable, and I’ll leave you alone if you want me to, but all you had to do was talk to me about it.” (Y/N)’s voice was smaller now, and she hadn’t looked up from her hands in a while. Peter felt like a huge ass. (Y/N) was obviously upset because of what he did and she was nothing but kind to him. “So, bye, I guess.” She scoffed and turned to walk back to her normal table when Peter called out to her.

“Wait, wait, (Y/N), wait!” Peter tried to smoothly stand up from the benches and run after her, but he fumbled like an idiot and tripped his way to where she stood. 

“What?” Her tone was flat, her eyes angry as she turned and stared Peter in the eyes.

“I don’t hate you. I really don’t, I’m just…” he sighed “really awkward. I promise. I’ve been avoiding you because I don’t know how to talk to you without sounding like an idiot. You seem like a really nice person.”

(Y/N) sighed in relief and smiled again. “That makes me feel  _ so _ much better. I’m sorry I doubted you, I guess, but I totally understand where you’re coming from.” Peter tilted his head and opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but she interrupted him. “I actually have really bad anxiety. I just put on this weird act at school that makes it easier to function.” She shrugged and smiled at him.

“Are you serious?” Peter asked, completely bewildered. “I can’t imagine you having anxiety!”

“Yeah, I know, it’s weird,” She shrugged and tucked her hair behind her ear, a light pink dusting her cheeks.

“No, it’s not weird.” Peter immediately reassured her. 

“Thanks,” (Y/N) smiled shyly, scratching the back of her neck in embarrassment.

As Peter watched this girl smile, his mind went blank. How do people breathe again? Is it two in, one out? Oh, God. “Do you want to sit with us?” He suddenly blurted out, vaguely regretting it as soon as he said it.

“Duuuuuude,” Ned whispered from his spot on the bench.

“Uhh,” (Y/N) glanced back at her table with her friends, biting her lip in contemplation. “Sure! Let me just tell my friends.” 

(Y/N) walked casually back to her table to grab her things and let her friends know she wouldn’t be joining them. At least, she seemed casual. In reality, she was beyond excited. The only friends she had were in theater.

While (Y/N) spoke to her table, Ned took the opportunity to ask Peter what the hell he thought he was doing. 

“Dude! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” 

Peter hurriedly sat down and ran his hands through his hair, “I don’t know! I don’t know why I did that!” 

“You didn’t even know her name until three days ago!” Ned’s eyes were wide with panic. Him and Peter had never invited anyone to sit with them before. Of course, MJ sat with them occasionally. But, even she had her own friends, and they barely saw her anymore outside of the academic decathlon practice. 

“I know!” Peter groaned and put his head on the table. “Why am I like his?” 

“Be cool, she’s coming back.” Ned whispered to Peter before smiling at (Y/N) as she approached the table. 

Peter’s head shot up from the table and (Y/N)’s eyebrows shot up, looking at Peter with a faint smile. “Hey, (Y/N)” 

(Y/N) set all her things down and sat to the left of Peter, fixing her hair before looking back up at Ned and Peter, who just so happened to be vaguely staring at her. “So…” She sucked in her lips and made a  _ pop _ sound. “What’s up? What were you guys talking about?” She rested her chin on her knuckles.

“Nothin’ much, just Peter’s Stark Internship.” Ned ( _ not-so _ ) casually brought up Peter’s ultimate brag.

“Wha-” Peter turns to Ned with a look of bewilderment before looking back at (Y/N). “Uh-” (Y/N)’s eyebrows were raised in interest.

“That’s pretty cool! Yeah, I think I heard Flash talk about it a couple times in class, you must be  _ insanely _ smart.” (Y/N) remarked, picking at the sweet potato fries on her lunch tray.

This time, Peter was the one scratching the back of his neck out of embarrassment. “Nah, just...just regular smart.” 

“Regular smart?” She chuckled and Peter suddenly had a hard time breathing.

“Peter’s  _ super _ smart, like, amazing detective-slash-genius smart.” Ned chimed in, trying to save his friend.

“Oh? Maybe I should start asking  _ you _ for chem help.” (Y/N) took another bite of her fry before turning the conversation to Ned. “So, what are you into, Ned?”

Ned falters for a second before smiling again, very excited to talk to someone new about all of his  _ super cool _ hobbies and interests. “I’m really into Star Wars. I just ordered a new Lego set for the entire rebel base on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back!”

“That’s awesome!” (Y/N) smiled at his genuine happiness. “I’ve never really been that into Star Wars, but my mom always was. And I  _ love _ putting together Lego stuff.”

At this, Ned delivered a swift kick to Peter under the table,  _ super _ inconspicuously (That, of course, means that (Y/N) heard the kick and saw Peter’s expression immediately shift to one of that in pain. He’s not slick). Peter turned to Ned and gave him a “what the actual fuck” expression while (Y/N) checked her phone.

Ned was about to mouth something to Peter when (Y/N) stood up, “Sorry, guys, I’d love to stay, but I have to leave a few minutes early and talk to Mr. C about that missing test. I’ll see you guys in fifth!” She gathered all of her belongings and waved sweetly to Peter and Ned.

“Why’d you kick me?!” Peter asked Ned as soon as (Y/N) was no longer in the cafeteria.

“Because!” Peter gave Ned an incredulous look, prompting him to continue. “She’s really nice and cool! She didn’t even lie about Star Wars to try and make me feel better.”

“So you kicked me?!” Peter bent and rubbed the spot on his shin where Ned kicked him.

“How else was I supposed to tell you?”

“I don’t know, a text message?! We live in the 21st century.” Peter grumbled, but he wasn’t  _ that  _ upset. In fact, he was happy that Ned liked her. Now, he could justify talking to her more. The bell that signified the end of the lunch period rang out, followed by a large groan from the student body.

“Look, dude, I’m just sayin’.” Ned shrugged as he and Peter made their way to fifth period. 

Ned had a point, she  _ was _ cool. Too cool for him, for sure. As he made his way to class, Peter was sure that that would be the last he would ever see of (Y/N) (L/N). But boy was he wrong.


	3. Working Together Day to Day

As time went on, (Y/N) sat with Peter and Ned more and more. Peter was pleasantly surprised by this and welcomed the change to their group. Ned couldn’t be happier. Because of Peter’s -- ahem --  _ job _ \-- ahem -- Peter  _ constantly _ flaked out on Ned. More often than not, something came up and Peter had to go full Spidey and ditch Ned. Now that there was three of them, whenever Peter couldn’t come, (Y/N) was there. Of course, Ned and Peter couldn’t talk about Spider-Man antics at the table anymore because she was always there, but they didn’t hold it against her, they loved talking to her. 

(Y/N) was never afraid to tell the boys how she felt. And they did the same for her (for the most part, Peter neglected to tell her of his growing feelings). It was a wholesome friendship, better than (Y/N) had with any of the theatre kids. Truth be told, she was never close with any of the theatre kids. They made her feel bad about herself and the program was full of drama. The only reason she stayed was because she had no other friends, she sat with the theatre kids at lunch, and no one outside of theatre seemed to have any interest in her as a friend. 

When (Y/N) told Peter and Ned this, it broke Peter’s heart and made him that much more willing to keep (Y/N) by his side. Ned was with Peter 100% and later talked to him about how messed up it was that she felt obligated to stay in that terrible situation. 

But, it had been nearly four months since (Y/N) had to sit with the theatre kids at lunch and she was grateful for every day without them and their strange attraction to drama.

“Hey, guys!” (Y/N) greeted as she joined them for lunch again one random friday afternoon. 

“Hey, (Y/N),” Ned and Peter both greeted, Peter’s breath only a little caught in his throat (“Yeah, totally fine don’t worry about it.”).

“Whatcha guys talkin’ about?” She asked, looking at her food in slight disgust before picking up her spork picking at it.

“Nothin’ much,” Ned answered. “Did you see the video yesterday with Spider-Man and those guys that were robbing the old folks home?” Ned’s eyes lit up with excitement. Knowing who Spider-Man  _ actually _ was made the new videos way more exciting to watch.

“Oh, yeah! That was  _ so _ cool! The way he took out that last guy by making a slingshot and throwing a friggin  _ lamp _ at him was straight up out of a movie!” (Y/N) nerded out. The avengers were awesome, but having a superhero guarding your own town was just awesome, you know?

“Ha ha, yeah…” Peter trailed off before trying to slyly change the subject. “So….who’s your favorite avenger?” Peter avoided eye contact, trying to keep his tone light and breezy, the complete opposite of how he felt at the moment. He couldn’t help it, his heart was racing.

“Favorite avenger?” (Y/N) said, contemplation in her voice. “Hmmmm...I guess from the original crew, Captain America. But, now…?” She rested her chin on her hand in contemplation, her lips formed a slight pout and her brows furrowed. 

Peter’s heart raced faster watching her face shift. Her small pout was so cute, the way her fingers tapped her cheek while her eyes flitted around in thought made his breathing stop completely. ‘ _ Oh, God, someone help me.’ _ Peter thought in despair, attempting to fight the strong feelings bubbling up inside of him. 

“I think probably Spider-Man.” (Y/N) finally said. Peter let out a small breath and Ned nudged him as though he hadn’t just heard the exact same news. 

“Why?” Peter asked suddenly. “I-I mean, why Spider-Man, what, uh, what do you like about him?” He tried to recover, screaming internally the entire time.

“I don’t know!” She smiled and shrugged. “There’s just something awesome about having a superhero from your town, you know? With all the videos I’ve seen, he seems like a nice, down-to-earth guy. Everyone else is too…” She contemplated her words carefully, “separated.” 

Peter nodded in understanding, a bit too quickly to be casual, and bent to look at his food, his face on fire for no legitimate reason.

“I know what you mean,” Ned said, picking up where Peter left off. “Thor’s literally from another planet, Captain America is too old, and Iron Man is the richest dude I know!”

“Exactly!” (Y/N) exclaimed, a smile still on her face. “Oh, hey, what are you guys doing for New Years?”

“Uh, I’m not sure.” Peter said, looking at Ned.

“I was just gonna hang out at home with whoever wanted to come.” Ned shrugged.

“Cool!” (Y/N) responded, Ned’s look of confusion and possibly even hurt went over her head. “My family has this lame party every year and I’m always allowed to invite friends, so do you guys want to come?”

Ned responded immediately, “Yeah! I’d love to be anywhere else for once,” Ned laughed, but Peter and (Y/N) both exchanged a look of worry.

When Peter didn’t respond right away, (Y/N) continued trying to sell her party. “I know I said it was lame, but it’s really not that bad. Lots of snack snacks and entertaining drunk people.”

“Uh, I’ll ask May, I’d love to come.” Peter smiled at her as her face lit up.

“Cool! Oh, and tell May that she’s welcome to come. I told my parents about her and they want to meet her.” (Y/N) started standing up, packing up her things. “I have to go, I’m actually going home early today. But, I’ll see you guys on New Years?”

“Totally,” Peter smiled and Ned nodded next to him, waving her off.

Peter watched as (Y/N) walked off, as soon as she was gone, he turned back to Ned, who was staring at Peter. 

“Peter!”

“What?”

“This is perfect!”

“What? What is perfect?” Peter asked, completely confused.

“(Y/N)’s New Year’s Eve party! It’s the perfect opportunity to tell her that you like her!” 

“What?!” Peter’s ears burned with embarrassment and he looked around to make sure no one heard him. Even though he knew full well that no one in this cafeteria cared about his life and what went on inside it. “What are you talking about? That’s never going to happen.”

“Peter, it’s a  _ New Years _ party. You guys can kiss at midnight! And, if it goes miserably, you have a couple weeks off school to completely forget about it.” 

Peter couldn’t lie, it was sounding good. But, that little voice of cowardice in his mind pulled him out of it. “That’s crazy, Ned. We’re friends, I don’t want to ruin it. And, besides, she- she probably doesn’t even like me!” Peter scratched his ear and looked down again.

“Peter. I’m saying this because I care about you.” Ned turned to Peter and put his hand on his shoulder, looking him in the eye. “Man. Up.” Peter groaned and pushed Ned’s hand off of him. “No, really! Come on, Peter, what would Spider-Man do?”

“It doesn’t  _ matter _ what Spider-Man would do!” Peter said, brushing Ned’s hands off of him and standing up, running his hands through his loose curls. “When I’m out of the suit, I’m no more Spider-Man than you.”

Ned gasped, his eyes wide “Peter! That’s it!”

“What? What’s it?” 

“You gotta Spider it up! If you swing by the party as Spider-Man and tell her that you’re friends, there’s no way she’ll say no.”

“I don’t know, Ned...Don’t you remember what happened last time we tried that?” Peter said quietly, bringing up his freshman year.

“Yeah, but it’s different! Now, you’re an Avenger and there’s a cute girl at stake.” Ned countered.

“There was a cute girl at stake  _ last time _ too!” 

“Peter!” Ned whined.

“Ned!” Peter returned, vaguely mocking Ned. When they both fell silent, Peter sighed and stood up. “Look, Ned, it’s a bad idea. Can we please just let it go?” 

Ned sighed before standing up, throwing his backpack over his shoulder. “Yeah.”

Peter thanked Ned and they began to walk to their fifth period, Peter deep in thought. Maybe Ned had a point. It had been a year-and-a-half since the last time he tried to impress a girl with the ol’ Spidey trick and he had certainly grown since then. This was a terrible idea and he shouldn’t do it. But,  _ God, _ he wanted to. But it was crazy! 

...right?


	4. Together

As New Year’s Eve crept closer and closer, (Y/N) got more and more nervous. She had been planning on confessing her feelings to Peter at this party, but the more she thought about it, the more she thought it was an absolutely terrible idea. What-if scenarios kept her up at night. What if he didn’t feel the same and it ruined her only good friendship? What if she never confessed her feelings and never got to know whether or not her and Peter were meant to be? But what if he liked her back? What would she do then? She’d never been in a relationship before and had no idea how to function in one.

Before she knew it, it was the day of the party. She quickly opened her phone to shoot a text to her, Peter, and Ned’s group chat.

 **From: You  
To: Apple Bottom Jeans (boots w the fur)**🍎🍎

**See you guys at 8?**

(Y/N) couldn’t help but think of the day they came up with the ridiculous name. They were all at their respective homes rapidly changing the name of the group chat to equally ridiculous – and occasionally offensive – names. It was stupid, but fun. _“(y/n) sucks_ ” “ _Peters left pinky_ ” “ _Neds gay for flash”_ (This one prompted an immediate response from both Ned and Peter saying “thats not even funny” and “he wishes”). It had settled down after a couple minutes, everyone had ran out of funny ideas, so (Y/N) suggested that everyone hit paste and send whatever it was.

**(Y/N): ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯**

**Ned: Martha was ugly like a shaven baboon,**

**So she wrapped herself up in a curtain cocoon.**

**And after a week, she finally emerged,**

**She smelled like wet garbage, what a psycho.**

But Peter…he had a link to the song _Apple Bottom Jeans_ by T-Pain.

And it was almost…. _too_ good. (Y/N) and Ned refused to let it go, changing the group chat to “Apple Bottom Jeans (boots w the fur)” every time Peter tried to change it to anything else. Eventually, he gave up and left it like that – (Y/N) and Ned sent confetti with their next few messages out of sheer excitement.

(Y/N) was pulled out of her sentimental flashback by a buzz.

 **From: Peter  
To: Apple Bottom Jeans (boots w the fur)**🍎🍎

**Ya ill see you then :)**

His text brought a small smile to her face. He wasn’t even trying but he did it anyway. _God, he’s just so cute_. (Y/N) thought for a moment before her anxiety came back, full swing. Why does anxiety exist? It was understandable in caveman days because they were prey, but now there’s just a teenage girl hoping to find the courage to confess her feelings.

 _The human brain sucks_. She thought with disdain as she slipped her phone into her back pocket and made her way to the party in her kitchen/living room. There was already family there that her parents had insisted come early so they could get drunk together before the kids got there.

Her home was never this crowded, people sat all around their table and nearly every seat on the couch was taken. (Y/N) wouldn’t consider her family upper-middle class, but they certainly lived in a nicer apartment in Queens. It was a three bedroom apartment, with a room for her, her brother, and her parents. Her living room didn’t have a wall separating her kitchen so the edge of the couch served as a sort of barrier. The entire place was decorated, not only with New Year decorations, but with pictures of her family. The kitchen cabinets were covered in pictures of (Y/N)’s childhood, framed photos of relatives she’s never met and people she’s spent her entire life with covered the walls, and it made her feel happy. If she ever felt down, she only had to look around and see all the people that would support her no matter what. And, right now, she needed support.

Ned, Peter, and May arrived at 7:55, which absolutely delighted (Y/N). She greeted them and invited them in, giving them all year 2000 glasses – it was her family’s tradition, they refused to buy any year past it – and colorful party hats before introducing May to her parents and sitting around the kitchen table with Peter and Ned.

Ned took a look around the party, nodding in approval before turning back to (Y/N), “Kickass party!” He shouted over the chatter and music.

“Thanks!” She laughed, “Nice hat!” She pointed at Ned’s party hat on top of his favorite fedora.

Ned smiled and took a small handful of chex mix. The party was, generally speaking, a success. Drunk relatives kept coming up to (Y/N) and her friends and making very strange conversation, but, for the most part, Ned, Peter, and (Y/N) were free to hang out. Their conversation was light and breezy, mostly carried out by Ned because (Y/N) and Peter were both consumed by their nerves and entirely in their own heads.

Around 11:00, Peter excused himself to the bathroom and left (Y/N) and Ned to talk. And, that’s totally fine. But it was now 11:45. Needless to say, (Y/N) was worried and upset.

“….and that’s why Star Trek can never really beat Star Wars when it comes to quality.” Ned finished his point and (Y/N) realized she hadn’t listened to a thing he had said because she was so busy checking the time and scanning the room for Peter.

“Oh, totally.” (Y/N) wholeheartedly agreed, nodding passionately, even if she had listened, she knew pretty much nothing about Star Trek or Star Wars. “Do you know where Peter is?” She finally asked Ned, maybe he knew something she didn’t?

“Uh…” Ned looked nervous and checked his phone before responding, “He’s in the bathroom, right?”

“For an hour?” (Y/N) questioned and sighed. She was getting frustrated and upset, she planned to tell Peter at midnight but he was nowhere in sight. She knew full well that if she didn’t tell Peter tonight, she’d never have the nerve to tell him ever again. There’s no better time than on New Year’s Eve! If things went bad, she’d have time to move on, and if things went well, they’d have time to go on a date before school started. But every minute that passed was another minute closer to midnight.

“I think I’m gonna go for a walk,” (Y/N) told Ned, standing up and stretching. “I need some air before midnight.” Ned nodded, knowing that her anxiety was that much worse in social situations like this.

(Y/N) felt bad for leaving Ned in a house full of people he didn’t know, but she was upset with Peter and she was surrounded with people when she really just needed to be alone. Once her coat was on, she left her apartment and made her way outside. The cold New York air stung her cheeks as soon as she stepped outside, even though it was supposedly the “ _warmest winter New York had seen in years.”_

She walked around the neighborhood for a bit, grateful for her distance to Times Square during the tourist season. She could never understand the overwhelming desire people felt all over the world to be in New York for the New Year.

“Damn TV for making New York seem so glamorous.” She cursed under her breath as she walked. She slowed her stride and sighed as she began to think about her life again. She couldn’t help but look for signs that she was making a mistake with Peter. _‘I mean, he disappeared. Is there a bigger sign that I’m making a mistake?_ ’ She thought over their friendship and how devastated she would be if she lost her two closest friends. If Peter liked her, Ned would have told her, right?

“Ugh, I’m so stupid.” She groaned, stopping and burying her face in her hands. She stayed there, feeling sad about her feelings that would never be shared, for several minutes before steeling her nerves and deciding to go back home.

She had just turned around make her way back when something big and wet hit her on the top her head. “What-?” She looked up only to be hit with several more on her face. “Crap.” She whispered before speeding up in an attempt to get home before she was drenched. ‘ _Of course, I_ had _to bring the one coat without a hood.’_

(Y/N) was, unfortunately, unsuccessful and was soaked by the pouring rain well before she got home. She stopped under a small awning to check the time and message Ned that she might not make it back for midnight.

**11:55**

‘Yep, _definitely_ missing midnight.’ (Y/N) sighed and opened her messages when she heard a familiar voice yell, “Uh, a little help!”

(Y/N) glanced around, curious and on edge. “Peter?” She called back, walking slowly toward the alley the voice called from. She peered down the dark alley, terrified and cold, searching for her best friend.

Much to her surprise, and disdain, instead of Peter, she found Spider-Man, tangled in his own web upside-down, drenched from the rain.

Her eyes went wide at the sight. “Oh my God, are you okay?” (Y/N) ran over to him but had no idea how to get him out of his own webs.

“Yeah, just, uh, messin’ around and got myself stuck.” He laughed awkwardly, his body spinning slightly.

“If only the world could see the amazing Spider-Man now.” (Y/N) laughed, plucking one of his webs like a guitar string after steadying him.

“Oh, god, please don’t tell anyone about this,” He groaned, the eyes of his mask getting smaller, somehow.

“I won’t,” she giggled, her eyes crinkling, her left handing coming up to her mouth to hide her smile. “But, your voice sounds so familiar…” She bit her lip, contemplating whether or not she should speak more.

“Oh!” Spider-Man shouted suddenly before deepening his voice and speaking again. “I get that a lot.”

“…I’m…sure you do,” (Y/N) agreed, nodding her head at the same pace she spoke.“But, you sound a lot like this guy I know. His name is Peter.”

“Who’s this ‘Peter’ guy? He sounds _super_ cool.” Spider-Man said, sounding embarrassed.

(Y/N) giggled, her heart fluttering at the thought of Peter.“He’s a huge dork. But, that’s what makes me like him so much.”

“Oh, yeah?” His voice was suddenly small

“Yeah…he’s really cute. I was actually going to tell him tonight, but I haven’t been able to find him.” She confessed. “Aaaaaand I just confessed something weird and embarrassing to a super stranger.” She screwed her eyes shut and sighed, even though she was nearly certain that Spider-Man was no stranger.

“It’s not embarrassing!” He insisted, “I’m sure he feels the same! Something super important probably came up and he-he couldn’t, uh, couldn’t come back?”

(Y/N) cracked a smile. She could practically picture Peter’s curls underneath the mask. “Yeah, that’s probably it.” She said softly, looking into the eyes of the mask as if it would tell her everything she was wondering about.

“Yo-You should definitely still tell him how you feel, though. I mean, I’m sure he’d love to hear it.” Spider-Man stuttered out.

“You’re right,” she said, stepping closer to the dangling, masked, drenched, hero. She was certain at this point. “I’m going to tell him that I like him.” The pitter-patter of the rain on the fire escapes was going to be the soundtrack to her confession. She knew what she was doing. Or, at least, she hoped she did.

Her voice dropped as she stepped even closer to Spider-Man. “I’m going to say that I love his enthusiasm for everything he’s involved in. I love the way he casually checks in on me when he knows I have a bad day. I love that he pretends not to notice when I do something super embarrassing. I love that he’d do anything for his friends. I love that he’s smart enough to do whatever he wants but he chooses to hang out with me and Ned and take normal classes to be with me. I love that he comes to my shows even though I know he doesn’t like them. I love his beautiful brown eyes and his wonderful smile. I love that I can depend on him. But, most of all,” She took a shaky breath before her final confession, “I love him.”

A heavy silence fell around them. Peter wasn’t sure what to do and (Y/N) had just spilled her heart. Peter was about to say something, anything, to break the silence when a loud cheer went up and fireworks exploded in the sky.

(Y/N) looked up at the sky and smiled before returning her loving gaze to the boy in front of her. “Midnight.”

Spider-Man said nothing but stared at (Y/N) as she grabbed the edge of his mask and pulled it down to his nose. She leaned forward slowly, her breath hitching just before she pressed her lips to his.

It was a small kiss, but it was enough to leave them both breathless and elated.

“Happy New Year, Peter.” (Y/N) said softly, no longer caring about the party or the fact that she was drenched in cold rain. Her heart was warm and that was all that mattered.


End file.
